After the dinner in the town centre and the presentation of the ‘Cencio’, from Friday the ‘Ca’ Stellare’ dances will officially begin. Until Sunday, adults and children will compete in a series of challenges based on creativity, imagination, skill and …muscular strength. An event that has now proved to be one of the summer’s most popular events among the townspeople, capable of combining tradition, teamwork, spirit and identity ties with one’s own district.
The meeting of all the contrade will be as usual in Piazza Kennedy (at 8. 45 p.m), for the parade through the streets of the centre, arriving at the Municipal Stadium, where the first three games of the Palio dei Bambini will be held: ‘Squeeze Sponge’, where participants will have to compete between a full and an empty basin of water and, with a small cloth, endeavour to “soak up” as much water as possible from the former and wring it out over the latter; “Aim and Throw” (one child with a basket on his head, the other throws balls from a distance of three metres, the winner is the one who throws the most into the basket), and the traditional “relay race”.
On Saturday 14 June (at 9 pm), a new appointment in Piazza Kennedy for an evening with a theatrical flavour, during which the various contrade (neighbourhoods) will engage in curious, bizarre and original performances centred on the theme chosen for this edition: ‘The great Disney classics’. And you can bet that there will be no shortage of surprises.
Sunday 15 June will be the eagerly awaited final day, dedicated to great challenges. Right from the morning (Stadio Comunale ‘Riccardo Neri’, from 8.00 a.m.) technique, skill and strength will take the lion’s share with the ‘Relayette’ and the ‘Tug of War’, accompanied by the cheers of supporters intent on cheering on their favourites from the stands of the Stadium. In the afternoon at 3.45 p.m., the Palio will move to the capital and the adult competitions will resume in Piazza Kennedy with ‘Palla avvelenata’ followed by ‘Ruzzola Balla’ (route: Piazza Kennedy, Stazione, Piazza Gramsci). At 6.15 p.m. (Municipal Stadium) the ‘Baby’ version of the ‘Ruzzola Balla’ reserved for the Children’s Palio and at 8 p.m. (Piazza Kennedy) the proclamation of the winning contrada (the one that will have obtained the highest result through the sum of the various scores obtained in each individual race) and the awarding of prizes, which will be followed by celebrations.
‘From Friday, the Palio gets into full swing,’ observes the mayor, Francesca Giannì, ’and it is a joy for all those who live it in an active and participatory manner within the individual contrade, but also for the hundreds of citizens who nonetheless support it passionately. Three days under the banner of team spirit, in which the most diverse aptitudes, muscular strength and playing skills, creativity and theatrical imagination are brought into play. A Palio that every year proposes an original theme while also maintaining that ‘Palio of the children’ that serves as an invitation to the new generations to spend their free time in the open air, not to shut themselves up at home in the comforts offered by technology, experimenting with new activities and friendships. This alone is enough to say that this year’s Cà Stellare will also be a success. A heartfelt thank you to all those who – in various capacities – have collaborated in the organisation of the Palio, because I know they have dedicated a lot of time to it.
